Chapter 5 - The Detective Confesses
I snapped my head toward the street corner.
Detective Miller stood under a flickering streetlight, holding an umbrella in one hand and his phone in the other.
He did not draw his weapon.
He just stared at me with tired, guilty eyes.
I stepped out of the alley, keeping a safe distance.
"How long, Miller?" I asked, my voice cutting through the rain.
"How long have you been on the cartel payroll?"
He lowered the phone.
"Since before Daniel crashed his car."
"I was the one who signed off on the dental records for the body in that vehicle."
Bile rose in my throat.
"Who was in the coffin, Miller?"
He shook his head slowly.
"A drifter."
"Nobody who would be missed."
"Daniel was in too deep with Marcus, and Celeste offered me a fortune to help him vanish."
"And now?" I challenged.
"Why frame me for the fifty million?"
"Because the federal agents are closing in on Voss Financial," he explained.
"They need a scapegoat who looks like a bitter widow out for revenge."
"Your background in financial crimes makes you the perfect mastermind."
He reached into his coat pocket.
I tensed, ready to run.
Instead of a gun, he tossed a set of car keys onto the wet pavement between us.
"There is a blue sedan parked at the end of the block," he said.
"Take it."
"Why are you helping me?" I asked, eyeing the keys suspiciously.
"Because they told me to kill you tonight, and I draw the line at murdering an innocent woman," he replied.
I picked up the keys and backed away toward the sedan.
"They will kill you for this," I warned him.
Miller offered a sad smile.
May you like
"They already did."
He pulled back his coat, revealing a massive, blooming bloodstain across his abdomen.
